About actions and the Actions panel

About actions

An action is
a series of tasks that you play back on a single file or a batch
of files—menu commands, panel options, tool actions, and so on.
For example, you can create an action that changes the size of an
image, applies an effect to the image, and then saves the file in
the desired format.

Actions can include steps that let you perform tasks that cannot
be recorded (for example, using a painting tool). Actions can also
include modal controls that let you enter values in a dialog box
while playing an action.

In Photoshop, actions are the basis for droplets,
which are small applications that automatically process all files
that are dragged onto their icon.

Photoshop and Illustrator come with predefined actions installed
that help you perform common tasks. You can use these actions as
is, customize them to meet your needs, or create new actions. Actions
are stored in sets to help you organize them.

You can record, edit, customize, and batch-process actions, and
you can manage groups of actions by working with action sets.

Actions panel overview

You
use the Actions panel (Window > Actions) to record,
play, edit, and delete individual actions. This panel also lets
you save and load action files.

Photoshop Actions panel

A. Action set B. Action C. Recorded commands D. Included command E. Modal control (toggles on or off)

Expand and collapse sets, actions,
and commands

Click the triangle to the left of the
set, action, or command in the Actions panel. Alt-click (Windows)
or Option-click (Mac OS) the triangle to expand or collapse
all actions in a set or all commands in an action.